June 21, 2017. President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Michel Temer, right, during an official meeting at the KremlinSolid BRICS: Brazil Underlines the Importance of Its Partner Russia

On Wednesday, Brazil’s President Michel Temer held talks with Russian President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev to discuss a wide range of issues including, among others, the strengthening and diversification of trade and economic ties. Sputnik Brazil discussed the issue with Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr., the Vice President of New Development Bank.

Russia and Brazil are ready to boost bilateral cooperation in a wide range of spheres, including the defense industry, trade and the economy, as well as the nuclear energy sector, the Russian and Brazilian leaders said in a statement on Wednesday.

The two leaders also agreed to deepen coordination in the fight against terror.

“We have just signed a joint statement with the president on strategic foreign policy dialogue, which provides for a higher level of coordination and efforts by our countries in combating new challenges and threats, terrorism, supporting peace, stability, non-proliferation, and armaments control,” Putin told reporters after the meeting with his Brazilian counterpart.

The Brazilian President arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for a two-day visit and talks with the Russian leaders.

Sputnik Brazil discussed the issue with Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr., the Vice President of the country’s New Development Bank, who said that the visit of the Brazilian leader comes as confirmation of the important role Brazil assigns to one of its key partners in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) format.

The banker stressed that ten years ago, the association of five major emerging national economies started with a dialogue between Russia and Brazil, which then extended to other states.

Nowadays, he said, the association has very promising prospects, including China’s New Silk Road project, One Belt, One Road. Brazil’s New Development Bank, which opened its branch in Shanghai in 2015, is set to participate in this project alongside other multinational banks/ It has already inked an agreement with the Chinese government under which it is going to finance this infrastructural project.